“DOMINANT IN BATTLE”

ISSUE 7 JUNE 2012 Page 1

ISSUE 9 September 2012

- IN THIS ISSUE: -

CO’S COMMENTS 2

XO’S POST 3

CMC’S BLOG 3

CHENG’S PIT 4

OPS’S STAND 4

SUPPO’S BIN 5

THE PODIUM 5

MONTH IN PICTURES 6

THE DOMINANT

NEWSLETTER Your iron Sailors of MCM Crew DOMINANT have

had yet another action-packed month. We are excited to

share all of this month’s happenings with all of you

back home! Per usual, our department heads and

Command Master Chief have submitted articles, which

place our “high points” since the last newsletter into the

spotlight.

Since we last wrote, your Sailors have kept very busy

out here in the Arabian Gulf. The weeks have been

packed with ship repairs completed during another

Continuous Maintenance Availability period, INSURV

preparations, survey operations in the Central and

South Arabian Gulf, and another Indoctrination

Exercise, among many other exciting activities!

We were sad to say goodbye to MNCM (SW)

Williamson this month, but know he will be an extremely valuable asset to NMAWC, as he was to us. We’ll see

you again soon, shipmate! It seems that whenever we say goodbye to one, we welcome several more to the Crew –

see all of DOMINANT’s newest members on page 5!

If you have not checked us out already, please follow MCM Crew DOMINANT on Facebook! We keep the page

updated with pictures of events, along with information and resources to help

keep you informed while we are away. We can only fit so many pictures into our

monthly newsletter, but many, many more are posted on Facebook!

Mrs. Elicha Moyer has officially taken over as the Ombudsman for our Crew. She

is more than eager to help our Sailors’ families, and her contact information can

be found on our website if you missed it in last month’s newsletter. Remember,

we would love to hear from you! If you would like to contribute an article from

the perspective of a family member of a Sailor or have another idea please

forward them along to john.morgan@mcm11.navy.mil.

-John R. Morgan III, First Lieutenant

On 14 June 2012 EOD personnel detonate an explosive counter-mine charge as part of the US/UK MCM-Exercise while embarked on USS GLADIATOR. This photograph was taken by members of HM-15 onboard one of their MH53C helicopters participating in the exercise.

“DOMINANT IN BATTLE”

ISSUE 7 JUNE 2012 Page 2

CO’s COMMENTS

Greetings, Crew DOMINANT family and friends! I hope that

everyone is doing well and that you have smoothly transitioned in a

new school year. Over the past two months your Sailors have spent

the majority of time operating USS GLADIATOR (MCM 11) at sea

conducting Route Surveys, training; we also had a port visit for the

second time in Jebel Ali, UAE. The second week of September

marked a new phase of the deployment for our Sailors. We began the

preparations to make the final preparations to start USS

GLADIATOR’s Selective Restrictive Availability (SRA). So on

September 12th

we got GLADIATOR underway and on her own

power we moored at the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard (ASRY)

Company in Bahrain. You may remember that this is about the same

time as last year when we took USS SCOUT (MCM 8) into a

shipyard, but this time we will complete the entire maintenance

availability. This will give us the ability to enjoy the fruits of our

labor by operating GLADIATOR at sea with a few new toys!

Life in the shipyard has been busy. The ship is receiving eight major equipment upgrades, including a new sonar,

and the Mine Neutralization Vehicle (MNV) is being replaced with a newer expendable mine neutralization system

(EMNS) called SEAFOX. On top of the upgrades, the yard package is full of engineering equipment overhauls

and topside preservation. By the time we complete this yard period, GLADIATOR will look and operate like a

new ship. Your Sailors are putting in the time and effort to ensure that she will be able to meet any task assigned!

Keep your eye on our Facebook Page. It is being updated regularly by our OMBUDSMAN and Crew editors. Our

goal is to maintain weekly updates to help keep our Family Members and Friends up-to-date with what we are

doing over here to help everyone stay connected. It is not a one-way street though; if you would like us to add a

different type of content or if you would like to see a picture of your Sailor please let us know by leaving us a

message on our Facebook page. On the topic of keeping in contact, you can reach our OMBUDSMAN (Mrs.

Elicha Moyer) by sending her an e-mail to “dominantfamily@gmail.com”.

We’ve had a few new crewmembers join Crew DOMINANT over the past month that I’d like to welcome:

EN2(SW) Garcia, IT2(IDW) Nelson, and MNSN Zimmerman. Welcome to the Crew DOMINANT family! I’d

also like to wish fair winds and following seas to a couple of our crewmembers who have departed: MNCM (SW)

Williamson, who transferred to NMAWC, ET2(SW) Martire, who transferred to SPECWARCOM in Coronado,

and to QM2(SW) Marrero who is transitioning out of the Navy to start the next chapter of his bright future.

Until next month, you have my sincere wishes to the start of a great school year!

M. T. Erdner

Commanding Officer

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ISSUE 7 JUNE 2012 Page 3

XO’s POST Greetings from the exciting world of the Arab

Shipbuilding and Repair Yard! Well, maybe exciting

is a bit of an exaggeration, but it sure is busy around

here. September has found its way back to our

calendars and Crew DOMINANT has found our way

back into another shipyard. For those new to our

family, ASRY (the locals pronounce it “as-ree”) is the

third shipyard we’ve been in over the past year spread

across four different ships. Your favorite Sailors have

become almost too familiar with the special kind of

craziness that is required to pull off a successful yard

period, but we are fortunate enough to be able to see

this one through to completion and we’re just the right

folks for the job. There are lots of brand new systems

getting installed on GLADIATOR and lots of long

awaited repairs getting accomplished at the same time.

We are very much looking forward to getting back to

sea and trying all these cool new gadgets out. In fact,

I’d say there are nearly twice as many jobs getting done

during this yard period and about half the time within

which to finish, so hopefully the time between now and

the next time we’re underway goes by quickly.

Luckily we’ve got some of the best talent in the world

of shipbuilding

out here to help

us get GLADIATOR back on her feet

and raring to go.

Although I have

to admit I was a

bit concerned

when I saw the

nice gentleman

with the

chainsaw come

aboard!

As always, we

are most grateful

for all the wonderful support we receive from you folks

back home. The letters, emails, thoughts and prayers

are constant reminders of why we’re working so hard

and who it’s really for. Stay safe back there and keep

your heads above water…we’ll do the same out here!

CMC’s BLOG BMCM (SW/AW) Bernard

The End of Ramadan

Muslims throughout the world observe a joyous

three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr (the Festival

of Fast-Breaking). Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of

SHAWWAL, the month which follows Ramadan in

the Islamic calendar. It is a time to give in charity to

those in need, and celebrate with family and friends

the completion of a month of blessings and joy.

Before the day of Eid, during the last few days of

Ramadan, each Muslim family gives a determined

amount as a donation to the poor. This donation is of

actual food -- rice, barley, dates, etc. -- to ensure that

the needy can have a holiday meal and participate in

the celebration. This donation is known as sadagah

al-fitr (charity of fast-breaking).

On the day of Eid, Muslims gather early in the

morning in outdoor locations or mosques to perform

the Eid prayer.

This consists of a

sermon followed

by a short

congregational

prayer. After the

Eid prayer,

Muslims usually

scatter to visit

various family

and friends, give

gifts (especially

to children), and

make phone calls to distant relatives to give well-

wishes for the holiday. These activities traditionally

continue for three days. In most Muslim countries,

the entire 3-day period is an official

government/school holiday. Remember to enjoy your

day, because you deserve it

“DOMINANT IN BATTLE”

ISSUE 7 JUNE 2012 Page 4

CHENG’s PITThe Engineering Department sends our warmest

greetings from Bahrain!

August was a busy month jammed packed with

events. After spending several days underway the

Engineers turned their attention to the 2A3

Continuous Maintenance Availability (CMAV). The

work package of over 12 jobs was successfully

completed within the allocated time period thanks to

the efforts of the ship’s force.

During the same week of the CMAV, the

Engineers hosted a Board of Inspection

and Survey (INSURV) Readiness

Assessment Team onboard. The team

looked at the ship’s preparations for the

upcoming INSURV. Crew

DOMINANT’s Engineers rose to the

challenge and successfully demonstrated

numerous equipment items throughout

the engineering plant, verifying proper

operational settings and performance

measurements of nearly every piece of

Engineering equipment onboard.

The Engineers also worked vigorously to improve the

cleanliness and material status of the Main

Machinery Room for a visit by the Vice Chief of

Naval Operations. The Admiral had nothing but

good words to state about the condition of our space.

Crew DOMINANT would like to congratulate IC1

Simmons and his wife, Kelly Simmons, on their

newborn baby, Brody Cole Simmons! Brody was

born at 0759 on 27 August and weighed in as a

lightweight champion of 6 pounds and 14

ounces.

The Engineers of Crew DOMINANT have

been working extremely hard over the past

month in preparation for the ship’s

upcoming shipyard period. The ship will

sustain a lengthy period of maintenance

until the crew returns home. The

Engineering Department would like to say

thank you for all of your support. We are

extremely grateful for your love and

support.

OPS’s STAND

It’s been a busy month for Crew DOMINANT.

Operations would like to extend a warm welcome to

its newest Chief, MNC (SW) Simoncic. He is the

new CPO for Deck Division. July started with

TACDEV, an exercise in tactical development. Crew

DOMINANT had over 40 Mine Neutralization

Vehicle “Flights” that week,

and the exercise was a

resounding success! Following

a couple days in port, Crew

DOMINANT was at it again,

this time with an EOD

detachment embarked in order

to complete their

Indoctrination Exercise. The

exercise had the entire crew

and EOD Det. busy working on mine sweeping, mine

hunting, diving and a gunnery exercise. The week

ended with a boom, as the EOD team detonated an

80-pound C4 charge just below the surface!

Following another brief stop in port, Crew

DOMINANT headed out for a week-long surveying

exercise. The around-the-clock

work mine hunting meant long

hours on watch but a lot of

valuable training to our crew.

Now, after another quick stop in

port, Crew DOMINANT is

looking forward to heading out for

our first port visit to Jebel Ali,

UAE. Stay tuned for more exciting

updates in the next newsletter!

EMC (SW) Moyer and ENS Hansberry observe EN3 Tolleson’s plotting efforts during a Main Space casualty drill.

MN3 Arrand, MN3 Woodson, and MNSN Montgomery putting their heads together in the Combat Information Center.

“DOMINANT IN BATTLE”

ISSUE 7 JUNE 2012 Page 5

SUPPO’s BIN

The end of August marks another month of

deployment down! As September begins, it also

brings about another yard period beginning, this time

in ASRY. For those crew members who have been

onboard since last deployment, this is the fourth yard

period on the fourth (different) ship in the past year.

Some of the upper chain of command went to ASRY

to inspect our new berthing and messing assignments,

and while it will be a big change, everything should

work out well. An onsite galley is being provided

along with a separate messing area for the crew to

use while repairs are being made to GLADIATOR's

galley. And while not as big as the ship's, the

temporary galley will do quite nicely!

Of course, we still have our flats out in town, which

are still working out well. Having the chance to

decompress off of the ship has been a great release

and the crew is really enjoying it.

THE PODIUM

AWARDEES

Navy Commendation Medal Recipient:

MNCM (SW) Williamson

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal Recipients:

EN1 (SW/SCW) Morgan, ET2 (SW) Martire

Letter of Commendation Recipient:

QM2 (SW) Marrero

NEW ARRIVALS

IT2 (IDW) Nelson EN2 (SW)

Garcia

MNSN Zimmerman

FAREWELLS – MNCM(SW) Williamson, ET2(SW) Martire , QM2(SW) Marrero - You will be missed!

CSSN Garcia and CSSN Ross pause meal preparations for a quick photo opportunity!

“DOMINANT IN BATTLE”

ISSUE 7 JUNE 2012 Page 6

MONTH IN PICTURES